I really love techie websites. When I was growing up, I was responsible for figuring out everything there was to know about my family’s now-obsolete Windows 98 computer. Everything from why wasn’t the printer working (out of ink), a blank display on the monitor (hmm, forgot to plug the video card cable in?) to the wonderful Internet-not-working problems (oh boy, this will take all afternoon) fell into my lap to fix. Fixing and learning all these things about the “new” computer in my house was really frustrating and really fun. Now, I’m truly grateful for having had those experiences, but at the time they could be as confusing as the hardest Sudoku puzzle. Anyway, that is all to say that I really love techie culture. Tinkering with computers, changing different settings, trying different applications, even just staying abreast of the latest techie happenings are all things I like to do. I find it an intelligent escape from the day-to-day issues I encounter. With this love for all things computer comes a rabid following of techie websites. Most guys and girls into this kind of thing have a top list of bookmarked techie websites and here are my top three:
Lifehacker
Lifehacker is a recent discovery of mine and I have to be careful not to spend too much time on it! It’s a very addicting website with daily articles on all kinds of different technical and computer-related tips and tasks. I have found a myriad of tips through Lifehacker that have helped me with everything from antivirus software to simple Gmail tasks.
Wired
Wired offers a print magazine (one of the few magazines I like), and a wonderful website full of information and daily articles on tips and news. They have a really nice section of techie blogs, on all kinds of different topics covered by their writers. The Threat Level and Underwire sections are particularly interesting, as is the Geek Dad blog section. Wired is definitely more news-oriented than LifeHacker, but it has its fill of how-to articles as well.
PCPitstop
If I ever have a computer problem that I simply cannot fix, I run through the Internet to PCPitstop. Their forum is an incredibly valuable center of knowledge for all things computer-related. Registration is required (its free) to use the forum but it is certainly worth it for people having computer problems. One of the main tools their users recommend for analyzing PC issues is HijackThis, a software that scans the computer and gives a easily-read report about the entire PC system in question.
